Wednesday, Los Altos, California
Ah, good night’s sleep, what a wonder!
Soft wonderful bed last night, clean air, clear sky, fresh fruit you can eat without worrying, fresh garden-grown tomatoes, good supper last night (home cooked), relaxing surroundings.
It was a wonderful trip, but always good to get back to your home country. Love the US.
Friday we head back to Tampa, then Apollo Beach and our own house. Grace says for months.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29--Going Home!
Tuesday--Going home
Got up early Tuesday; think both of us were ready and somewhat excited. Not rah-rah excited, but ready and past ready to get home. It is rainy and overcast outside, National Day is approaching (Everything is going to shut down for several days.), and we are dog tired.
We packed yesterday as it had been raining. Rain again today, that typhoon is getting closer--the cloud movement out our window shows us that. We are both dressed and packed when we get our wake-up call at 7:30.
Grace goes downstairs at 8:15 to checkout and wait for the bus to the airport at 9:00. I stay a little longer to wait for the bell hop to come for the bags. Boy, are the bags heavy; too heavy I am afraid. But Grace’s is not as heavy as mine, so just maybe we will get through. Wonder if they go on individual bag weight or if they average? We’ll soon find out. Used to be you were allowed one bag to Hong Kong, but two bags when leaving. I have not asked this time.
Bus is delayed, and the concierge is worried. He is making phone calls and looks agitated. Not sure what all that means, but if he is worried, that is not comforting to us. It’s 9:10 and the bus shows up. The driver is 10 minuets late, seems in a hurry. We are his last stop, and he assures us all in rapid-fire multiple languages that he will have us at the airport in 40 minutes. He does, and all is well. We are the second stop and start talking to a young man from Atlanta who does importing and sourcing out of China. He says he has flown to China 19 times since 2007, and I make the comment that is not much fun. He agrees, but it is part of his job. We kind of follow him to United and talk while in line.
At check-in we are overweight. I am 5 kilos over, about 10 pounds, but Grace is 3 kilos under. So we get down on the ground and pass several things from my suitcase to hers and move some things into my backpack. She tells us we can check two bags each, so I am thinking maybe to check my backpack, but it has my computer and some papers I don’t wish to be separated from. Back on the scale, and she grimaces when I put Grace’s on the scale, but then says, “Let’s pretend I didn’t see that.” And I put mine up. Mine is OK now, so I decide not to check my backpack. Grace thinks I am silly to carry such a load but it is a habit of mine.
Security is a breeze, I do not set off any bells, and the bags pass too. Immigration is just a formality and we go towards the gate. Luckily we have 1 ½ hours to flight time, so we stop for a meal. They have Burger King, Ben and Jerry’s, Popeye’s Fried Chicken, Starbuck’s and other western fast food places in addition to several Japanese and Chinese chains. We have hot fried chicken and the fixings at Popeye’s.
Everything in this airport that we see is very high end. No, not the food stands, but everything else. We had planned on spending our last $300.00 HKD here, but everything is way up in the $2000.00 plus range, luxury items all. Saw one coat, forget the brand, but one of those famous designer brands, that was priced at $156,000.00 HKD. In an airport? Gees!
Get to the gate in plenty of time, but the flight is delayed: “mechanical problem.” Delayed time approaches and they announce a further two-hour delay, same reason. Most passengers head back towards the terminal from where they came but Grace and I stay put. We have had enough walking. But have to say I really, really, want them to fix any mechanical problem while we are still on the ground rather than at 30,000 feet.
Close to 2:00 pm (original flight departure time was 11:40 am) the flight crew starts boarding, so I assume we are headed out. Every one of the crew that goes to the plane sets off the alarm: very reassuring.
We board, but do not get away from the gate. Plane is almost full, and then the captain or someone comes on and says there is a further delay due to congestion. The sky is quickly getting more ominous, even thought the typhoon is several hundreds of miles away. I want to get airborne. We pull away from the gate at 2:30, but then sit some more. Another announcement that we are delayed another 30 minutes, tower congestion. Finally get off around 3:00, so we are 3 + hours late getting off, for a 12hr 45min flight.
Hum, bus late, plane late, bad karma?
Flight is uneventful, except neither Grace nor I can sleep. We try, but it just does not happen. They show four movies, but we saw two of them coming over so they do not help pass the time much either. Usually they show different movies each way, and they change on the month, but it is still September. Grace has a book she got in Hong Kong and that helps her, but for some reason, I have not brought anything to read. Strange, as I almost always have something.
Arrival is smooth. We get in about 2:00 pm, I might add the same day we leave, which always confuses me. Traveling back in time, or getting someplace when you leave, is unsettling and of course makes you wonder if time travel really is possible.
Immigration goes well, but getting our bags proves disquieting. I see both bags come up from downstairs, but then mine is the only one going around the carousel. After two trips around, I suggest Grace walk over to the exit and kind of eyeball those leaving in case someone has gotten hers by mistake. As they say, lots of black suitcases look similar. I keep watch on the carousel. She comes back after a while, but saw no one, so I suggest she walk around the carousel and see if it is possibly on someone’s cart. About then a young lady behind me lets out a quiet scream. One of the hounds that sniffs for contraband has just sniffed her leg and startled her. Grace comes back several minutes later with her bag, Seems it had been going round and round the whole time. I was just missing it.
Loaded up we head for customs. Guy looks at our declaration and tells us to go left. We do, but then notice it is for connecting passengers, so we continue until we can figure out which direction to go to get out. Turns out we escape going through customs altogether. That is OK, we have nothing to pay duty on, and of course we look like upstanding and honest American citizens. (Had to throw that one in.)
Take the Airtrain over to the rental car garage and pick up a Dodge Caliper for three days. Head down to my brother’s home in Los Altos.
The air is clean and clear, the sun is shinning, it is cool, but not cold. We are back and it feels oh so good.
Good trip.
Got up early Tuesday; think both of us were ready and somewhat excited. Not rah-rah excited, but ready and past ready to get home. It is rainy and overcast outside, National Day is approaching (Everything is going to shut down for several days.), and we are dog tired.
We packed yesterday as it had been raining. Rain again today, that typhoon is getting closer--the cloud movement out our window shows us that. We are both dressed and packed when we get our wake-up call at 7:30.
Grace goes downstairs at 8:15 to checkout and wait for the bus to the airport at 9:00. I stay a little longer to wait for the bell hop to come for the bags. Boy, are the bags heavy; too heavy I am afraid. But Grace’s is not as heavy as mine, so just maybe we will get through. Wonder if they go on individual bag weight or if they average? We’ll soon find out. Used to be you were allowed one bag to Hong Kong, but two bags when leaving. I have not asked this time.
Bus is delayed, and the concierge is worried. He is making phone calls and looks agitated. Not sure what all that means, but if he is worried, that is not comforting to us. It’s 9:10 and the bus shows up. The driver is 10 minuets late, seems in a hurry. We are his last stop, and he assures us all in rapid-fire multiple languages that he will have us at the airport in 40 minutes. He does, and all is well. We are the second stop and start talking to a young man from Atlanta who does importing and sourcing out of China. He says he has flown to China 19 times since 2007, and I make the comment that is not much fun. He agrees, but it is part of his job. We kind of follow him to United and talk while in line.
At check-in we are overweight. I am 5 kilos over, about 10 pounds, but Grace is 3 kilos under. So we get down on the ground and pass several things from my suitcase to hers and move some things into my backpack. She tells us we can check two bags each, so I am thinking maybe to check my backpack, but it has my computer and some papers I don’t wish to be separated from. Back on the scale, and she grimaces when I put Grace’s on the scale, but then says, “Let’s pretend I didn’t see that.” And I put mine up. Mine is OK now, so I decide not to check my backpack. Grace thinks I am silly to carry such a load but it is a habit of mine.
Security is a breeze, I do not set off any bells, and the bags pass too. Immigration is just a formality and we go towards the gate. Luckily we have 1 ½ hours to flight time, so we stop for a meal. They have Burger King, Ben and Jerry’s, Popeye’s Fried Chicken, Starbuck’s and other western fast food places in addition to several Japanese and Chinese chains. We have hot fried chicken and the fixings at Popeye’s.
Everything in this airport that we see is very high end. No, not the food stands, but everything else. We had planned on spending our last $300.00 HKD here, but everything is way up in the $2000.00 plus range, luxury items all. Saw one coat, forget the brand, but one of those famous designer brands, that was priced at $156,000.00 HKD. In an airport? Gees!
Get to the gate in plenty of time, but the flight is delayed: “mechanical problem.” Delayed time approaches and they announce a further two-hour delay, same reason. Most passengers head back towards the terminal from where they came but Grace and I stay put. We have had enough walking. But have to say I really, really, want them to fix any mechanical problem while we are still on the ground rather than at 30,000 feet.
Close to 2:00 pm (original flight departure time was 11:40 am) the flight crew starts boarding, so I assume we are headed out. Every one of the crew that goes to the plane sets off the alarm: very reassuring.
We board, but do not get away from the gate. Plane is almost full, and then the captain or someone comes on and says there is a further delay due to congestion. The sky is quickly getting more ominous, even thought the typhoon is several hundreds of miles away. I want to get airborne. We pull away from the gate at 2:30, but then sit some more. Another announcement that we are delayed another 30 minutes, tower congestion. Finally get off around 3:00, so we are 3 + hours late getting off, for a 12hr 45min flight.
Hum, bus late, plane late, bad karma?
Flight is uneventful, except neither Grace nor I can sleep. We try, but it just does not happen. They show four movies, but we saw two of them coming over so they do not help pass the time much either. Usually they show different movies each way, and they change on the month, but it is still September. Grace has a book she got in Hong Kong and that helps her, but for some reason, I have not brought anything to read. Strange, as I almost always have something.
Arrival is smooth. We get in about 2:00 pm, I might add the same day we leave, which always confuses me. Traveling back in time, or getting someplace when you leave, is unsettling and of course makes you wonder if time travel really is possible.
Immigration goes well, but getting our bags proves disquieting. I see both bags come up from downstairs, but then mine is the only one going around the carousel. After two trips around, I suggest Grace walk over to the exit and kind of eyeball those leaving in case someone has gotten hers by mistake. As they say, lots of black suitcases look similar. I keep watch on the carousel. She comes back after a while, but saw no one, so I suggest she walk around the carousel and see if it is possibly on someone’s cart. About then a young lady behind me lets out a quiet scream. One of the hounds that sniffs for contraband has just sniffed her leg and startled her. Grace comes back several minutes later with her bag, Seems it had been going round and round the whole time. I was just missing it.
Loaded up we head for customs. Guy looks at our declaration and tells us to go left. We do, but then notice it is for connecting passengers, so we continue until we can figure out which direction to go to get out. Turns out we escape going through customs altogether. That is OK, we have nothing to pay duty on, and of course we look like upstanding and honest American citizens. (Had to throw that one in.)
Take the Airtrain over to the rental car garage and pick up a Dodge Caliper for three days. Head down to my brother’s home in Los Altos.
The air is clean and clear, the sun is shinning, it is cool, but not cold. We are back and it feels oh so good.
Good trip.
Jumbo Floating Restaurant--You Gotta Go!
Monday evening--Hong Kong
It is raining when we get into the taxi for Jumbo. Not hard, and since it has been all day, everything is wet. Our driver may be new to his profession, or he seems to be. The first few turns, we drift through them. That means slide, not sideways, but close. Either he is new, or his tires have absolutely no traction. Either way, I am concerned, but say nothing.
After the first few slides, he drives very carefully, and we arrive at Jumbo with no further problems. But quite a drive--way across town. Thankfully it is rush hour and we really can’t go very fast.
Grace is amazed at what she sees. We approach the landing which is certainly lit up. At the landing, we get onto a smaller boat to take us to the bigger boat, Jumbo. Unfortunately, Jumbo is not lit up yet, just the entrance. But still impressive. A three-minute ride later, we disembark and enter the restaurant. We are sent upstairs, and to the VIP room. Not sure I like this; they are all western tables, set for four. But the décor is magnificent, and Grace likes it. We have a table at the window facing the landing we came from.
I get a noodle dish with garlic and abalone sauce, very mild, but they mix and cook it at the table which is a nice show. Grace gets a shrimp dish with pumpkin, onions, and beef knuckles. It is better and very hot, heat hot. We also order a vegetable plate, green beans with two different kinds of fungus, or mushrooms. Water to drink. The food is very good, very, but not quite as spicy as we like. But then Cantonese cuisine is not known for its spiciness. It does have a reputation, but I will save that for another blog, another day.
Back downstairs and onto the smaller boat and back to the landing. It is a slow night what with the rain, and we are a bit concerned about getting a taxi. Maybe ten minutes of waiting and the attendant says he will run down to the main cross street and see if he can get one. No sooner does he get out his umbrella and start than one pulls up.
This guy is not cautious at all. He turns out to be a real speed demon, and lucky for us, his tires do a good job, not slipping once. Grace refers to him as “Mr. Fung’s Wild Ride” and says he should work at the new Disneyland here. We get back in a fraction of the time, but both Grace and I are a bit disoriented because we come into the street a different way. So I tell him to drive some more, but we are going away from the hotel, not towards it. Finally it hits us and we stop and walk back, almost from the Star Ferry terminal. The rain has stopped, so it is not too bad. But then the rain starts again about 200 feet from the hotel entrance.
One thing fascinates me. The two tolls to Jumbo were $40.00 and the other $5.00 HKD. Coming back? Nope, $15.00 and $5.00. I don’t drive many tolls roads where I live, but different costs for different directions on the same road does seem strange. The ride also is quite different, but then we came different roads, and it certainly was longer one way. But then going to Jumbo, he was only driving at 1/3 the speed the back driver guy drove. So one way was $157.00, the way back is $102.00. Do I think we were taken by going man? No, but maybe I am just slow or too trusting.
Airport tomorrow.
It is raining when we get into the taxi for Jumbo. Not hard, and since it has been all day, everything is wet. Our driver may be new to his profession, or he seems to be. The first few turns, we drift through them. That means slide, not sideways, but close. Either he is new, or his tires have absolutely no traction. Either way, I am concerned, but say nothing.
After the first few slides, he drives very carefully, and we arrive at Jumbo with no further problems. But quite a drive--way across town. Thankfully it is rush hour and we really can’t go very fast.
Grace is amazed at what she sees. We approach the landing which is certainly lit up. At the landing, we get onto a smaller boat to take us to the bigger boat, Jumbo. Unfortunately, Jumbo is not lit up yet, just the entrance. But still impressive. A three-minute ride later, we disembark and enter the restaurant. We are sent upstairs, and to the VIP room. Not sure I like this; they are all western tables, set for four. But the décor is magnificent, and Grace likes it. We have a table at the window facing the landing we came from.
I get a noodle dish with garlic and abalone sauce, very mild, but they mix and cook it at the table which is a nice show. Grace gets a shrimp dish with pumpkin, onions, and beef knuckles. It is better and very hot, heat hot. We also order a vegetable plate, green beans with two different kinds of fungus, or mushrooms. Water to drink. The food is very good, very, but not quite as spicy as we like. But then Cantonese cuisine is not known for its spiciness. It does have a reputation, but I will save that for another blog, another day.
Back downstairs and onto the smaller boat and back to the landing. It is a slow night what with the rain, and we are a bit concerned about getting a taxi. Maybe ten minutes of waiting and the attendant says he will run down to the main cross street and see if he can get one. No sooner does he get out his umbrella and start than one pulls up.
This guy is not cautious at all. He turns out to be a real speed demon, and lucky for us, his tires do a good job, not slipping once. Grace refers to him as “Mr. Fung’s Wild Ride” and says he should work at the new Disneyland here. We get back in a fraction of the time, but both Grace and I are a bit disoriented because we come into the street a different way. So I tell him to drive some more, but we are going away from the hotel, not towards it. Finally it hits us and we stop and walk back, almost from the Star Ferry terminal. The rain has stopped, so it is not too bad. But then the rain starts again about 200 feet from the hotel entrance.
One thing fascinates me. The two tolls to Jumbo were $40.00 and the other $5.00 HKD. Coming back? Nope, $15.00 and $5.00. I don’t drive many tolls roads where I live, but different costs for different directions on the same road does seem strange. The ride also is quite different, but then we came different roads, and it certainly was longer one way. But then going to Jumbo, he was only driving at 1/3 the speed the back driver guy drove. So one way was $157.00, the way back is $102.00. Do I think we were taken by going man? No, but maybe I am just slow or too trusting.
Airport tomorrow.
Rainy Day in Hong Kong--There's a Typhoon Out There!
Monday, Sept 28—It’s still Hong Kong
Not a good day, but gotta do something.
We wake—late--and it is raining outside. There is a typhoon several hundred miles south of us, headed from the Phillipines through Hainan and going into Viet Nam. We are in the rain shield to the northwest. Typhoon in the Pacific is the same thing as a hurricane in the Atlantic. Lots of rain and flooding in Manila on the TV; images from more remote locations are slower to get on TV. But southern China and Viet Nam are bracing for a big one.
We try to get going, but we are worn out, so it is almost 10:30 before we go downstairs. Raining harder than we thought, so plans to walk over towards Kowloon Park and do some trinket shopping and go to Kenny’s Restaurant for lunch are put on hold.
Sorry to miss Kenny’s as it is popular because they have a worldwide selection; you can choose Thai while your friend gets French while another gets American. But the rain is too hard, and I have no desire to walk on these cobblestone streets and sidewalks when they are wet and slippery.
I make a couple of phone calls, one to a stamp dealer I recently bought some stamps from at an auction. Not open yet; it is 10:50. Call again at 11:30 and he answers. He will have to get back to me as his staff is still not in. Hong Kong stays up late and sleeps in--evidently.
So we head to the Thai restaurant that overlooks the harbor. Still closed; they open at 12:00.
So plan four, we go down to the mall and try to find something. Lots of food stalls here, and we pick one after “reading” the menu at several. I get Sour and Spicy Chicken over rice, Grace gets Sweet and Spicy Fish over rice. Drink is coffee or tea. We are in China--I ask for tea, so does Grace. We sit down and Grace opens her paper glass to add sugar. Tea, well, yes, but English tea with milk already added. Terrible, I can’t drink mine. Grace tries, adds more sugar, and tries again, but not much luck getting it down. Food is OK.
We wander some more. It is still raining, maybe harder. So it is after 12:00 and we head to the Thai restaurant and have a beer on the outdoor covered patio. That harbor is nice, but it is raining, and we cannot see all the way across the harbor. One is enough; we are not really up for much of anything. I do take some pictures through the rain of the very large catamaran ferries that seem to be everywhere. There are seven of them below us at the terminal while we have the beer. One has on its side New Ferry LXXVI which I think translates to 76. That is quite some ferry fleet!
Lobby has a notice that we are at Level 1 for Typhoon preparedness. Level 1 is more like pay attention, there is a typhoon within 24 hours of Hong Kong. We hope we are gone if it turns north.
Back to the room. Message on the phone from the stamp dealer says I owe a number in USD. I do a quick conversion. I thought they would add packing and shipping charges, but it is less in USD than my invoice, substantially less. I call again, nobody there. So I put a check in the mail to him for the amount he said in the message with a comment that he might want to double-check as I do not think it is enough. Hey, I want the stamps, so, yes, I am going to call his attention to it.
Naptime.
Up again at 4:30, both of us are already packed and antsy. Still raining, don’t think it will stop before we head to the airport tomorrow morning. At least all of our stuff fits inside the suitcases. And we only have one each plus a carry-on.
Dinner tonight at Jumbo Floating Restaurant. Jumbo is across town in Aberdeen, a floating restaurant that is ALL lit up and designed like a Chinese boat with dragons on both ends. We will have to take a water taxi out to it after that land taxi (car) to the location. Pictures to follow. You have to visit Jumbo. I read that it is much more than a restaurant now, an amusement park on the water. Chinese restaurants like this are much better in a group, but it is just the two of us. Group meals mean there are more choices and I like that.
Probably next blog we will be back in the US. First thing I’ll do is clean up my computer. It has been running very slowly since about Jing de zhen. Not sure if something has been added, but I’m thinking I need to check.
Best to all. It has been fun, but Grace and I both agree that 21 days in China is enough, maybe more than enough.
Not a good day, but gotta do something.
We wake—late--and it is raining outside. There is a typhoon several hundred miles south of us, headed from the Phillipines through Hainan and going into Viet Nam. We are in the rain shield to the northwest. Typhoon in the Pacific is the same thing as a hurricane in the Atlantic. Lots of rain and flooding in Manila on the TV; images from more remote locations are slower to get on TV. But southern China and Viet Nam are bracing for a big one.
We try to get going, but we are worn out, so it is almost 10:30 before we go downstairs. Raining harder than we thought, so plans to walk over towards Kowloon Park and do some trinket shopping and go to Kenny’s Restaurant for lunch are put on hold.
Sorry to miss Kenny’s as it is popular because they have a worldwide selection; you can choose Thai while your friend gets French while another gets American. But the rain is too hard, and I have no desire to walk on these cobblestone streets and sidewalks when they are wet and slippery.
I make a couple of phone calls, one to a stamp dealer I recently bought some stamps from at an auction. Not open yet; it is 10:50. Call again at 11:30 and he answers. He will have to get back to me as his staff is still not in. Hong Kong stays up late and sleeps in--evidently.
So we head to the Thai restaurant that overlooks the harbor. Still closed; they open at 12:00.
So plan four, we go down to the mall and try to find something. Lots of food stalls here, and we pick one after “reading” the menu at several. I get Sour and Spicy Chicken over rice, Grace gets Sweet and Spicy Fish over rice. Drink is coffee or tea. We are in China--I ask for tea, so does Grace. We sit down and Grace opens her paper glass to add sugar. Tea, well, yes, but English tea with milk already added. Terrible, I can’t drink mine. Grace tries, adds more sugar, and tries again, but not much luck getting it down. Food is OK.
We wander some more. It is still raining, maybe harder. So it is after 12:00 and we head to the Thai restaurant and have a beer on the outdoor covered patio. That harbor is nice, but it is raining, and we cannot see all the way across the harbor. One is enough; we are not really up for much of anything. I do take some pictures through the rain of the very large catamaran ferries that seem to be everywhere. There are seven of them below us at the terminal while we have the beer. One has on its side New Ferry LXXVI which I think translates to 76. That is quite some ferry fleet!
Lobby has a notice that we are at Level 1 for Typhoon preparedness. Level 1 is more like pay attention, there is a typhoon within 24 hours of Hong Kong. We hope we are gone if it turns north.
Back to the room. Message on the phone from the stamp dealer says I owe a number in USD. I do a quick conversion. I thought they would add packing and shipping charges, but it is less in USD than my invoice, substantially less. I call again, nobody there. So I put a check in the mail to him for the amount he said in the message with a comment that he might want to double-check as I do not think it is enough. Hey, I want the stamps, so, yes, I am going to call his attention to it.
Naptime.
Up again at 4:30, both of us are already packed and antsy. Still raining, don’t think it will stop before we head to the airport tomorrow morning. At least all of our stuff fits inside the suitcases. And we only have one each plus a carry-on.
Dinner tonight at Jumbo Floating Restaurant. Jumbo is across town in Aberdeen, a floating restaurant that is ALL lit up and designed like a Chinese boat with dragons on both ends. We will have to take a water taxi out to it after that land taxi (car) to the location. Pictures to follow. You have to visit Jumbo. I read that it is much more than a restaurant now, an amusement park on the water. Chinese restaurants like this are much better in a group, but it is just the two of us. Group meals mean there are more choices and I like that.
Probably next blog we will be back in the US. First thing I’ll do is clean up my computer. It has been running very slowly since about Jing de zhen. Not sure if something has been added, but I’m thinking I need to check.
Best to all. It has been fun, but Grace and I both agree that 21 days in China is enough, maybe more than enough.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Company--Hong Kong Peak?
Sunday, a full day in Hong Kong
Up about 7:00 am, but I am in no hurry to get going as yesterday things were quiet until 11:00. Grace however is antsy; she stayed in half of yesterday and wants out. We leave the Royal Pacific about 8 +/- and head down to the Star Ferry Terminal. About half way, I mention that we might want to consider getting some HK money. We have been getting by on RMB, mainland China currency, but last night at the Subway, they balked. I just barely had HK money enough to pay that bill.
So into Star House, but the changer people are not at their stations yet. We decide to go downstairs to the Café de Corral and get a breakfast of egg, toast, meat, and coffee. Then they ask if we want congee rice porridge) or macaroni. Out of habit we say macaroni. Off to the pick up line on the other side, and cue with everyone else waiting. Extremely efficient, one guy takes our ticket, speaks into a microphone, pulls out a tray, and slides it down the counter. Another grabs the plate from the kitchen with food already on it, and another pours and places the coffee. I am about to leave when a fourth tells me to wait, the macaroni is coming. Oh, yeah, macaroni for breakfast, I forgot. It comes, and each of us takes our tray and we go sit down.
The meat turns out to be a slice of ham (?) and a sausage (?). Toast is great, egg is good, meat is OK, but then I taste the coffee. Oh, no, they have added milk! I like black, but am unwilling to try for a change, so I set my cup aside. Besides, I already had two cups in the room. The macaroni is maybe one cup, boiled, still in water, with maybe five grains of corn, a tablespoon of cabbage (yes, boiled) and ¼ slice of ham slivered on the top as garnish. No flavor at all; bland would be a compliment.
We are a novelty, at least to the cleaner ladies who stare and giggle. One even comes by and smiles ear to ear at me. She cannot wait to take our trays.
Finished, we head upstairs, the restaurant happens to be in the basement. We walk on to the Star Ferry, passing the gauntlet of “Watch, copy watch?” guys and the “Suit, good suit, purse, copy purse?” guys hovering outside the terminal. Change $100 USD into HK $, and get $700.00 HKD. Turn and go up to the Central entry for the ferry. Take out tokens at the machine, and as soon as we drop them in the turnstile, the bell rings to board. Not many going over yet, so it is easy. Good trip--the sea is calm. We have to go slow to avoid a large dredge-like vessel and a cruise ship coming into port.
Arrive at Central, get off and head up to the bus terminal. Bus 15C at the bus cue is a standard bus, so we wait for the double-decker one with the convertible top. It arrives after about 30 minutes and we head to the Peak Tram terminal. Good ride, skyscrapers all around, sharp turns, steep climbs, lots of pedestrians, but these Hong Kong drivers are pros. They even go to driver’s school to learn how to handle these monsters in a slide!
Terminal, tickets--another cue. We get on the second tram. Grace tries to be nice, but tourists and locals alike go on ahead. It is OK; nothing can take away from such a ride. I am not sure of the angle, but it is extreme, maybe 45o at some points along the track. Up, up, and up some more. We did pass one short level place where the trams pass each other, then up again. Several stops along the way as many live in apartments on the side of this mountain. The tram is pulled up by cable, pulled by an electric motor. Big motor as each tram holds > 100 people, and there are two trams in operation at one time.
At the top, there are now two shopping centers, both huge, and crowded. We try for the very top, up I think it was five escalators, but at the last one they want another 10.00 HKD, and I balk. So back down again, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 escalators, and out onto a terrace. Nice fresh air, good breeze, even some room to roam.
Oh, the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company has a location at that fourth escalator up just in case you are wondering. I came to China to eat at a Bubba Gump? No thanks. Also a big promotion is going on for Hong Kong Disney Land. They are getting ready to host a spooktacular Halloween there next month. Yes, really; Halloween has come to China.
We hang around, find an overlook, window shop, and eat a bit. Back down on the tram, taxi to Hollywood Road and the antique shops. We are dropped off exactly where I asked, but have to walk several blocks before we find anything open. It is Sunday, and although Sunday does not mean that much here, most shops are still closed. First open one is a small local guy, and he does have some nice pieces, but a bit pricey. Then to Arch Angel, a world class shop that I have been to before. Amazing prices, amazing. Three floors worth, filled with furniture, ceramics, pottery, painting. I gotta say I was loving it, but the prices? Wow!
We meet a nice young Italian man, and Grace, the young man, the store owner and I talk a good bit. These are challenging times in the antique business. We go next door to another of their locations and I find a couple more pieces. But they start at $8,000 HKD. I think that works out to >$1100.00 USD. Not sure that is even worth starting to bargain for. We talk some more and she says the price is negotiable.
I decide to pass, for now.
Walk some more and find Oi Ling Antiques. Oi Ling is another very high quality shop with a world wide clientele. They tell us they do not carry ceramics; it has gotten too problematic, too hard to authenticate. But what surprise me is many of these shops carry Tang Dynasty Pottery pieces. Ever seen one at $400,000 HKD? That is around $6,000.00 USD! Pieces in the auctions here often go for >$1 million USD, often. Amazing. Chaks, another I wanted to go into, is closed up tight.
.
We are worn out, still thinking of the night market, but….
We take a taxi to the Star Ferry terminal, back across the harbor, and go up to the Internet Café. Again, we are staying in a hotel that wants blood for a connection. Remember? $40.00 HKD for one hour at the hotel? ”Only” $20.00 HKD per hour at the café, a deal. I insert my thumb drive into the USB port but it does not work. OK, the other drive, nope. Grace asks to try, and it does not work in either of hers either. I asked yesterday, and the manager told me it would work, so one more try--we turn it upside down. Yep, it works. It is a complicated world we live in.
We try to walk back to the hotel, but decide to stop along the way, into this time the Gateway Mall. These malls do NOT have meaningful maps; they want you to wander. We do, but finally find Bubble Bar at the Prince Hotel, another hotel above this monster mall along the waterfront. Nice, cool, refreshing and comfortable seats. So we rest a bit, then head back to the hotel and now we are here. It is 7:30, and I do NOT think the night market is on our agenda. We left at 8:00 am +/- and got back about 6:45, almost all that time on our feet. Our feet are asking for mercy. But who knows, we are only in Hong Kong for one more day. Time is short.
Oh, that $700.00 HKD? I am having trouble finding it and trouble remembering how I spent that much today. But this is a big city, and big cities are expensive.
Up about 7:00 am, but I am in no hurry to get going as yesterday things were quiet until 11:00. Grace however is antsy; she stayed in half of yesterday and wants out. We leave the Royal Pacific about 8 +/- and head down to the Star Ferry Terminal. About half way, I mention that we might want to consider getting some HK money. We have been getting by on RMB, mainland China currency, but last night at the Subway, they balked. I just barely had HK money enough to pay that bill.
So into Star House, but the changer people are not at their stations yet. We decide to go downstairs to the Café de Corral and get a breakfast of egg, toast, meat, and coffee. Then they ask if we want congee rice porridge) or macaroni. Out of habit we say macaroni. Off to the pick up line on the other side, and cue with everyone else waiting. Extremely efficient, one guy takes our ticket, speaks into a microphone, pulls out a tray, and slides it down the counter. Another grabs the plate from the kitchen with food already on it, and another pours and places the coffee. I am about to leave when a fourth tells me to wait, the macaroni is coming. Oh, yeah, macaroni for breakfast, I forgot. It comes, and each of us takes our tray and we go sit down.
The meat turns out to be a slice of ham (?) and a sausage (?). Toast is great, egg is good, meat is OK, but then I taste the coffee. Oh, no, they have added milk! I like black, but am unwilling to try for a change, so I set my cup aside. Besides, I already had two cups in the room. The macaroni is maybe one cup, boiled, still in water, with maybe five grains of corn, a tablespoon of cabbage (yes, boiled) and ¼ slice of ham slivered on the top as garnish. No flavor at all; bland would be a compliment.
We are a novelty, at least to the cleaner ladies who stare and giggle. One even comes by and smiles ear to ear at me. She cannot wait to take our trays.
Finished, we head upstairs, the restaurant happens to be in the basement. We walk on to the Star Ferry, passing the gauntlet of “Watch, copy watch?” guys and the “Suit, good suit, purse, copy purse?” guys hovering outside the terminal. Change $100 USD into HK $, and get $700.00 HKD. Turn and go up to the Central entry for the ferry. Take out tokens at the machine, and as soon as we drop them in the turnstile, the bell rings to board. Not many going over yet, so it is easy. Good trip--the sea is calm. We have to go slow to avoid a large dredge-like vessel and a cruise ship coming into port.
Arrive at Central, get off and head up to the bus terminal. Bus 15C at the bus cue is a standard bus, so we wait for the double-decker one with the convertible top. It arrives after about 30 minutes and we head to the Peak Tram terminal. Good ride, skyscrapers all around, sharp turns, steep climbs, lots of pedestrians, but these Hong Kong drivers are pros. They even go to driver’s school to learn how to handle these monsters in a slide!
Terminal, tickets--another cue. We get on the second tram. Grace tries to be nice, but tourists and locals alike go on ahead. It is OK; nothing can take away from such a ride. I am not sure of the angle, but it is extreme, maybe 45o at some points along the track. Up, up, and up some more. We did pass one short level place where the trams pass each other, then up again. Several stops along the way as many live in apartments on the side of this mountain. The tram is pulled up by cable, pulled by an electric motor. Big motor as each tram holds > 100 people, and there are two trams in operation at one time.
At the top, there are now two shopping centers, both huge, and crowded. We try for the very top, up I think it was five escalators, but at the last one they want another 10.00 HKD, and I balk. So back down again, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 escalators, and out onto a terrace. Nice fresh air, good breeze, even some room to roam.
Oh, the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company has a location at that fourth escalator up just in case you are wondering. I came to China to eat at a Bubba Gump? No thanks. Also a big promotion is going on for Hong Kong Disney Land. They are getting ready to host a spooktacular Halloween there next month. Yes, really; Halloween has come to China.
We hang around, find an overlook, window shop, and eat a bit. Back down on the tram, taxi to Hollywood Road and the antique shops. We are dropped off exactly where I asked, but have to walk several blocks before we find anything open. It is Sunday, and although Sunday does not mean that much here, most shops are still closed. First open one is a small local guy, and he does have some nice pieces, but a bit pricey. Then to Arch Angel, a world class shop that I have been to before. Amazing prices, amazing. Three floors worth, filled with furniture, ceramics, pottery, painting. I gotta say I was loving it, but the prices? Wow!
We meet a nice young Italian man, and Grace, the young man, the store owner and I talk a good bit. These are challenging times in the antique business. We go next door to another of their locations and I find a couple more pieces. But they start at $8,000 HKD. I think that works out to >$1100.00 USD. Not sure that is even worth starting to bargain for. We talk some more and she says the price is negotiable.
I decide to pass, for now.
Walk some more and find Oi Ling Antiques. Oi Ling is another very high quality shop with a world wide clientele. They tell us they do not carry ceramics; it has gotten too problematic, too hard to authenticate. But what surprise me is many of these shops carry Tang Dynasty Pottery pieces. Ever seen one at $400,000 HKD? That is around $6,000.00 USD! Pieces in the auctions here often go for >$1 million USD, often. Amazing. Chaks, another I wanted to go into, is closed up tight.
.
We are worn out, still thinking of the night market, but….
We take a taxi to the Star Ferry terminal, back across the harbor, and go up to the Internet Café. Again, we are staying in a hotel that wants blood for a connection. Remember? $40.00 HKD for one hour at the hotel? ”Only” $20.00 HKD per hour at the café, a deal. I insert my thumb drive into the USB port but it does not work. OK, the other drive, nope. Grace asks to try, and it does not work in either of hers either. I asked yesterday, and the manager told me it would work, so one more try--we turn it upside down. Yep, it works. It is a complicated world we live in.
We try to walk back to the hotel, but decide to stop along the way, into this time the Gateway Mall. These malls do NOT have meaningful maps; they want you to wander. We do, but finally find Bubble Bar at the Prince Hotel, another hotel above this monster mall along the waterfront. Nice, cool, refreshing and comfortable seats. So we rest a bit, then head back to the hotel and now we are here. It is 7:30, and I do NOT think the night market is on our agenda. We left at 8:00 am +/- and got back about 6:45, almost all that time on our feet. Our feet are asking for mercy. But who knows, we are only in Hong Kong for one more day. Time is short.
Oh, that $700.00 HKD? I am having trouble finding it and trouble remembering how I spent that much today. But this is a big city, and big cities are expensive.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday -- Hong Kong.
Big city, sleepy city, apparently.
We got going about 8:30 am, but most everything is closed. As Grace wrote, she is in a comfort-needed mode. So breakfast at McDonald’s in the monster mall downstairs, two egg McMuffins with ham, hash browns, and coffee. The hotel is actually above a four-story mall that stretches several city blocks. Under that restaurant we ate at yesterday (Pierside) is a ferry terminal that hosts the very large ocean-going catamarans that carry hundreds of passengers to many off-shore islands. That was one of the places I wandered around in (lost mostly) for a time last night. Could never quite figure out which floor I was on; the escalators do not always go up or down one floor. Most everything you could want, except that elusive bottle of Scotch or a laundry. Guess I will have to wait on the Scotch, not the type that enjoys paying $10 per for a single shot. And I guess the laundry will have to wait, too. Grace and I both have enough clean to get back to San Francisco and hopefully my brother Frank will let us use his washer.
Then off to the Star Ferry area. I wanted to visit with a stamp dealer friend close to there, Ming Yang of N.C. Yang Stamps. Not open till 11:00, so we tried to find something else to do. But almost nothing is open till 10:00, and it is not even 9:30. So we wandered, but found little. Finally the China Arts and Crafts store opened and we went in there. To be honest, it is too expensive. Did find a golden dragon Christmas ornament for Dr. Shultz; she asked Grace to bring an ornament as she has them from all over the world. The Internet Café opened next door, so we went in there and read and wrote emails for an hour. Point of information: $20.00 HKD or about $3.00 USD for an hour instead of the $40.00 HKD per hour the hotel wants. Grace takes the first half hour; I take the second.
Then to N.C. Yang, but he is not there; he is upstairs in his office on the 15th floor. Can’t find the elevator; then, we do but only 3 of 6 elevators go to the 15th floor. OK, right elevator, right floor. And oh my, he has closed for lunch. Right, he opens at 11:00, and then closes for lunch at 12:00.
Frustrated, we head back to the hotel to clean up before heading to the Thai restaurant next door. Well, not directly. We enter the hotel, our hotel, and find the elevator and press 15th floor. We are in room 1541 so that makes sense, right? Ah, silly flatlanders. You see, we have gone up in the wrong elevator. This elevator only takes you to rooms 01 to 29 on the 15th floor. Yep, there are TWO towers at this hotel. Back down, across the lobby, through the door, into another lobby, find the right elevator, and press 15 and hope. Bingo, we are at the right floor, in the right tower, in the right hotel. A relief: there is our room and the key works.
Back down to the lobby and to the Thai restaurant. Wonderful waterfront view, a curry dish and a pork with garlic dish, two Singhas--nice lunch, nice service, and much more reasonable, but still about $45 USD. Hong Kong is more expensive than mainland China.
Worn out again, we head back to the room. This time we make sure to get onto the right elevator.
Wake before 4:00 and Grace’s stomach is torn up, so I head out on my own. Plan had been to go to Yang’s, then across the harbor on the Star Ferry, then up the Peak Tram for dinner and the sunset. Guess that will have to wait.
This time Ming Yang is in and very welcoming. I spend about an hour there, then wander some more, pick up a BMT at Subway (Yes, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, Starbucks and now Subway are all here. Grace also saw a Burger King sign yesterday.) and a couple of Cokes for Grace, thinking her stomach may find comfort in familiar food. Oh, did I mention that the elevator I came up on is now not working? It is after 5:00 and this bank of elevators closes down then. Ming points me to a different bank, several shops away and around three corners, but they work.
Back at the hotel and Grace is feeling better, some. Oh, maybe I should have left the jalapenos off the Subway BMT? We’ll know more tomorrow.
Calm evening in the room and things to do tomorrow. Let’s see: Star Ferry, Peak Tram and the Peak, then some antique stores, maybe the night market tomorrow night? We’ll have to see tomorrow. Lots of walking still to do, but that sounds a little ambitious.
We got going about 8:30 am, but most everything is closed. As Grace wrote, she is in a comfort-needed mode. So breakfast at McDonald’s in the monster mall downstairs, two egg McMuffins with ham, hash browns, and coffee. The hotel is actually above a four-story mall that stretches several city blocks. Under that restaurant we ate at yesterday (Pierside) is a ferry terminal that hosts the very large ocean-going catamarans that carry hundreds of passengers to many off-shore islands. That was one of the places I wandered around in (lost mostly) for a time last night. Could never quite figure out which floor I was on; the escalators do not always go up or down one floor. Most everything you could want, except that elusive bottle of Scotch or a laundry. Guess I will have to wait on the Scotch, not the type that enjoys paying $10 per for a single shot. And I guess the laundry will have to wait, too. Grace and I both have enough clean to get back to San Francisco and hopefully my brother Frank will let us use his washer.
Then off to the Star Ferry area. I wanted to visit with a stamp dealer friend close to there, Ming Yang of N.C. Yang Stamps. Not open till 11:00, so we tried to find something else to do. But almost nothing is open till 10:00, and it is not even 9:30. So we wandered, but found little. Finally the China Arts and Crafts store opened and we went in there. To be honest, it is too expensive. Did find a golden dragon Christmas ornament for Dr. Shultz; she asked Grace to bring an ornament as she has them from all over the world. The Internet Café opened next door, so we went in there and read and wrote emails for an hour. Point of information: $20.00 HKD or about $3.00 USD for an hour instead of the $40.00 HKD per hour the hotel wants. Grace takes the first half hour; I take the second.
Then to N.C. Yang, but he is not there; he is upstairs in his office on the 15th floor. Can’t find the elevator; then, we do but only 3 of 6 elevators go to the 15th floor. OK, right elevator, right floor. And oh my, he has closed for lunch. Right, he opens at 11:00, and then closes for lunch at 12:00.
Frustrated, we head back to the hotel to clean up before heading to the Thai restaurant next door. Well, not directly. We enter the hotel, our hotel, and find the elevator and press 15th floor. We are in room 1541 so that makes sense, right? Ah, silly flatlanders. You see, we have gone up in the wrong elevator. This elevator only takes you to rooms 01 to 29 on the 15th floor. Yep, there are TWO towers at this hotel. Back down, across the lobby, through the door, into another lobby, find the right elevator, and press 15 and hope. Bingo, we are at the right floor, in the right tower, in the right hotel. A relief: there is our room and the key works.
Back down to the lobby and to the Thai restaurant. Wonderful waterfront view, a curry dish and a pork with garlic dish, two Singhas--nice lunch, nice service, and much more reasonable, but still about $45 USD. Hong Kong is more expensive than mainland China.
Worn out again, we head back to the room. This time we make sure to get onto the right elevator.
Wake before 4:00 and Grace’s stomach is torn up, so I head out on my own. Plan had been to go to Yang’s, then across the harbor on the Star Ferry, then up the Peak Tram for dinner and the sunset. Guess that will have to wait.
This time Ming Yang is in and very welcoming. I spend about an hour there, then wander some more, pick up a BMT at Subway (Yes, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, Starbucks and now Subway are all here. Grace also saw a Burger King sign yesterday.) and a couple of Cokes for Grace, thinking her stomach may find comfort in familiar food. Oh, did I mention that the elevator I came up on is now not working? It is after 5:00 and this bank of elevators closes down then. Ming points me to a different bank, several shops away and around three corners, but they work.
Back at the hotel and Grace is feeling better, some. Oh, maybe I should have left the jalapenos off the Subway BMT? We’ll know more tomorrow.
Calm evening in the room and things to do tomorrow. Let’s see: Star Ferry, Peak Tram and the Peak, then some antique stores, maybe the night market tomorrow night? We’ll have to see tomorrow. Lots of walking still to do, but that sounds a little ambitious.
Friday, Xiamen to Hong Kong
Actually starts Thursday in Xiamen.
After a lot of back and forth email and phone calls, with few actual conversations, we had a message that a lady artist friend of Grace’s was going to come to dinner. We are down in the lobby at 6:30, but no Luo Ping. A young girl sits down and bashfully asks if we are waiting for ? in very good English, except the name. We say no, but Grace digs a bit further, and sure enough this young lady is there for us too. Luo Ping does not speak English, so she has invited a student of hers from Xiamen University to come along. We talk a while and maybe 15 minutes later Luo Ping shows up. I figure the student is thirteen; turns out she is a junior in college. I’m getting old, fast.
Our upstairs restaurant is full, both the one we ate at the night before (was it just last night?) and the Chinese restaurant, so we head out onto the street. One thing for sure, you are not going to run out of restaurants in China; they are everywhere. We go behind our hotel and to another, and go up to their top floor to an even bigger restaurant. It is a bit crowded, but they make room for the four of us, and we get a menu.
Now, you have to understand, a dinner in China, especially one with foreigners is not an everyday occurrence. And it should not be taken lightly. The Chinese ladies discuss dishes, ingredients, preparation and more with the waiter before they make a decision. And that is on a normal day; when you have guests, it can get intense. It was. They settle on I think six dishes, and we get tea. Would much rather have beer, but this is Grace’s thing and beer is not offered.
The dishes come, and I have to say they were excellent, every one, well, except one. Several seafood (Xiamen is famous for their high quality seafood.) dishes; several spring rolls; a “beef” dish (Have never seen a cow in China.); a noodle dish, but we are told it is not noodle, and they cannot tell us what it is; and peanut soup. Now the soup was the closest to not being good, quite bland with boiled peanuts in water, and a little sugar. You don’t need to try that one when I get home.
Very nice dinner, and we pick up the tab, although only after a struggle. They insist they are the hosts; Grace argues she made the invitation. I pay. As we are saying good night, Luo Ping and June say they think they should see us off at the airport the next morning. We assure them that we are comfortable taking a taxi, and it would be too much to ask that they go to the trouble. We tell them how much we appreciate the offer.
We get back to the hotel after a little more shopping on the street. The phone rings, and the hotel desk clerk conveys the message that Luo Ping and her husband will be downstairs at 7:30 am tomorrow morning to take us to the airport. You cannot argue with a message. Good night’s sleep, but we were completely happy to take a cab.
The ride to the airport is uneventful. We attempt conversation with the aid of Luo Ping’s handheld translator while her husband drives. We learn that her husband is also an art teacher at Xiamen University and that their son did well in his graduate studies interview the evening before. We get unloaded at curbside, take more photos, and get started with check-in. It is a short walk (thank you) and we line up in the International line, but when we get close to the security, I tell Grace this is wrong as we do not have tickets yet. So we get out of line, walk a ways and stop at a booth that says Shenzen Airlines, but nobody is there. I ask the girl next door, and she tells us to go down to another area. We walk some more and find a check-in counter, get in line and wait. And wait. Finally our turn, but she cannot help us; we are International. After some struggle, we head back (more walking) to the original International entry, and the line is gone. We approach the security, and I explain we have no boarding passes; they wave us through. Customs--they wave us on, health check--they wave us on, ah, a ticket/check-in counter just like home. Kind of. We wait some more and eventually get to the counter. Sure enough all these people knew what they were telling us to do; we get boarding passes, checked in, and baggage “reclaim” tags.
Traveling on your own, when you do not speak the language or read the signs. wears you down. It is fun, but it does wear you down.
Actually, nobody gives our bags even a glance through security as the security guy is busy going through Australian lady’s things. More walking with no signs, but we follow others who seem to know where they are headed and to the health counter. We approach the “immigration” window, go through close scrutiny, and on to the gate area. More walking. Did I ever tell you there is a lot of walking in China? Yep.
Nice reception or waiting area--we try to let down a bit.
Flight is very nice; the plane is full as has been every plane we have been on here.
Hong Kong arrival is much less spectacular than it used to be. The first flight into Hong Kong was for me in the 80’s, and at that time you literally flew past apartment windows, close enough it felt like you could reach out and touch someone. Hong Kong at that time had the reputation of being one of the toughest airports for pilots to land at. Today the new airport is away form all buildings, way out by Lantau Island and is monstrous and very well laid out except for poor retired teachers from Florida who don’t walk much at home. Health check, security check, “immigration” and Visa counter, get the bags. We have nothing to declare, so we walk straight through that station, down a hall, into a waiting area, and to booth A02 for the hotel shuttle booth. They give us a sticker and ask us to sit in a waiting area. Fifteen minutes later, and a guy comes along and calls us to follow him. We walk the length of the terminal so it seems, pick up a couple more at another waiting area, and walk some more. Another terminal, down a ramp, down an elevator, through a tunnel, across a monstrous waiting hall, and wait some more. Thank God for rolling luggage. Bus driver arrives and we load up and get to sit in very comfortable seats in an air conditioned bus.45 minute drive into the hotel. We are really stretched thin, tired.
Room is the largest I have ever had in Hong Kong. Matter of fact, the bathroom is larger than one Hong Kong room I stayed in! I am impressed, and after sitting on her bed, Grace is impressed too.
I first came to Hong Kong in the 50’s. Hard to believe, but true. Cannot remember many details, but I do remember I was impressed, and I was just 13 at that time. Most 13-year-olds are not impressed with much. Hong Kong is absolutely one of the planet’s premier cities. If you have not been here, you need to come. I have now been here maybe six times, and it is always different: bigger and better.
We crash (intense nap for those of you who do not speak Archie); then about 4:00 we get up and head to the Pierside Bar. We do get a drink each and finally order a plate of fries after the girl tries to take Grace’s table service away without asking if we want food. Was a hint we should have paid attention to. The help soon disappears before we get the fries, and both glasses are empty. I even get up, walk around the bar area, and find not a soul anywhere. Sit back down and finally she comes with the plate. Drinks still empty, but we have decided to move on anyway. By the way, she did not ask; she is the food waitress, not the bar waitress. Distribution of labor? They disappear again, and we have to wait to get a bill. We do finally.
We get back to the room, and I head out to investigate, Grace to rest. Besides I would love a bottle of Scotch; after all, we are here for four days. My single drink was $10.00 USD and I am not going to have another there; that is for sure. No bottle shops, lots of “Want a copy watch, copy watch? Rolex Heaur, Rolex, etc.” and “Tailor, want a tailor? I have tailor shop.” Funny, none of these guys are Chinese. WE are in China mind you and they are Asian, but not Chinese. I do get a couple bottles of water, some crackers, and a magazine.
I’m back in the room now. Going to rest up for tomorrow. There just might be some walking in store for us.
After a lot of back and forth email and phone calls, with few actual conversations, we had a message that a lady artist friend of Grace’s was going to come to dinner. We are down in the lobby at 6:30, but no Luo Ping. A young girl sits down and bashfully asks if we are waiting for ? in very good English, except the name. We say no, but Grace digs a bit further, and sure enough this young lady is there for us too. Luo Ping does not speak English, so she has invited a student of hers from Xiamen University to come along. We talk a while and maybe 15 minutes later Luo Ping shows up. I figure the student is thirteen; turns out she is a junior in college. I’m getting old, fast.
Our upstairs restaurant is full, both the one we ate at the night before (was it just last night?) and the Chinese restaurant, so we head out onto the street. One thing for sure, you are not going to run out of restaurants in China; they are everywhere. We go behind our hotel and to another, and go up to their top floor to an even bigger restaurant. It is a bit crowded, but they make room for the four of us, and we get a menu.
Now, you have to understand, a dinner in China, especially one with foreigners is not an everyday occurrence. And it should not be taken lightly. The Chinese ladies discuss dishes, ingredients, preparation and more with the waiter before they make a decision. And that is on a normal day; when you have guests, it can get intense. It was. They settle on I think six dishes, and we get tea. Would much rather have beer, but this is Grace’s thing and beer is not offered.
The dishes come, and I have to say they were excellent, every one, well, except one. Several seafood (Xiamen is famous for their high quality seafood.) dishes; several spring rolls; a “beef” dish (Have never seen a cow in China.); a noodle dish, but we are told it is not noodle, and they cannot tell us what it is; and peanut soup. Now the soup was the closest to not being good, quite bland with boiled peanuts in water, and a little sugar. You don’t need to try that one when I get home.
Very nice dinner, and we pick up the tab, although only after a struggle. They insist they are the hosts; Grace argues she made the invitation. I pay. As we are saying good night, Luo Ping and June say they think they should see us off at the airport the next morning. We assure them that we are comfortable taking a taxi, and it would be too much to ask that they go to the trouble. We tell them how much we appreciate the offer.
We get back to the hotel after a little more shopping on the street. The phone rings, and the hotel desk clerk conveys the message that Luo Ping and her husband will be downstairs at 7:30 am tomorrow morning to take us to the airport. You cannot argue with a message. Good night’s sleep, but we were completely happy to take a cab.
The ride to the airport is uneventful. We attempt conversation with the aid of Luo Ping’s handheld translator while her husband drives. We learn that her husband is also an art teacher at Xiamen University and that their son did well in his graduate studies interview the evening before. We get unloaded at curbside, take more photos, and get started with check-in. It is a short walk (thank you) and we line up in the International line, but when we get close to the security, I tell Grace this is wrong as we do not have tickets yet. So we get out of line, walk a ways and stop at a booth that says Shenzen Airlines, but nobody is there. I ask the girl next door, and she tells us to go down to another area. We walk some more and find a check-in counter, get in line and wait. And wait. Finally our turn, but she cannot help us; we are International. After some struggle, we head back (more walking) to the original International entry, and the line is gone. We approach the security, and I explain we have no boarding passes; they wave us through. Customs--they wave us on, health check--they wave us on, ah, a ticket/check-in counter just like home. Kind of. We wait some more and eventually get to the counter. Sure enough all these people knew what they were telling us to do; we get boarding passes, checked in, and baggage “reclaim” tags.
Traveling on your own, when you do not speak the language or read the signs. wears you down. It is fun, but it does wear you down.
Actually, nobody gives our bags even a glance through security as the security guy is busy going through Australian lady’s things. More walking with no signs, but we follow others who seem to know where they are headed and to the health counter. We approach the “immigration” window, go through close scrutiny, and on to the gate area. More walking. Did I ever tell you there is a lot of walking in China? Yep.
Nice reception or waiting area--we try to let down a bit.
Flight is very nice; the plane is full as has been every plane we have been on here.
Hong Kong arrival is much less spectacular than it used to be. The first flight into Hong Kong was for me in the 80’s, and at that time you literally flew past apartment windows, close enough it felt like you could reach out and touch someone. Hong Kong at that time had the reputation of being one of the toughest airports for pilots to land at. Today the new airport is away form all buildings, way out by Lantau Island and is monstrous and very well laid out except for poor retired teachers from Florida who don’t walk much at home. Health check, security check, “immigration” and Visa counter, get the bags. We have nothing to declare, so we walk straight through that station, down a hall, into a waiting area, and to booth A02 for the hotel shuttle booth. They give us a sticker and ask us to sit in a waiting area. Fifteen minutes later, and a guy comes along and calls us to follow him. We walk the length of the terminal so it seems, pick up a couple more at another waiting area, and walk some more. Another terminal, down a ramp, down an elevator, through a tunnel, across a monstrous waiting hall, and wait some more. Thank God for rolling luggage. Bus driver arrives and we load up and get to sit in very comfortable seats in an air conditioned bus.45 minute drive into the hotel. We are really stretched thin, tired.
Room is the largest I have ever had in Hong Kong. Matter of fact, the bathroom is larger than one Hong Kong room I stayed in! I am impressed, and after sitting on her bed, Grace is impressed too.
I first came to Hong Kong in the 50’s. Hard to believe, but true. Cannot remember many details, but I do remember I was impressed, and I was just 13 at that time. Most 13-year-olds are not impressed with much. Hong Kong is absolutely one of the planet’s premier cities. If you have not been here, you need to come. I have now been here maybe six times, and it is always different: bigger and better.
We crash (intense nap for those of you who do not speak Archie); then about 4:00 we get up and head to the Pierside Bar. We do get a drink each and finally order a plate of fries after the girl tries to take Grace’s table service away without asking if we want food. Was a hint we should have paid attention to. The help soon disappears before we get the fries, and both glasses are empty. I even get up, walk around the bar area, and find not a soul anywhere. Sit back down and finally she comes with the plate. Drinks still empty, but we have decided to move on anyway. By the way, she did not ask; she is the food waitress, not the bar waitress. Distribution of labor? They disappear again, and we have to wait to get a bill. We do finally.
We get back to the room, and I head out to investigate, Grace to rest. Besides I would love a bottle of Scotch; after all, we are here for four days. My single drink was $10.00 USD and I am not going to have another there; that is for sure. No bottle shops, lots of “Want a copy watch, copy watch? Rolex Heaur, Rolex, etc.” and “Tailor, want a tailor? I have tailor shop.” Funny, none of these guys are Chinese. WE are in China mind you and they are Asian, but not Chinese. I do get a couple bottles of water, some crackers, and a magazine.
I’m back in the room now. Going to rest up for tomorrow. There just might be some walking in store for us.
Signs Fascinate Me
Signs fascinate me: some humorous; some telling of the situation. I’m not laughing at anyone as I am sure our attempts at Mandarin are somewhat pitiful.
The first photo—“No Louding.” Chinese people love to get together for almost any reason. And when they do, they certainly have a wonderful time. Being from a large family, I identify with their noise level. This sign was on the wall of the Lingering Gardens in Suzhou. There were many Chinese tourists there along with other tourists from all over the world. Guess the powers that be wished to make a good impression. Therefore, “no louding” allowed.
And, yes, there was Tiger Woods in the huge Accenture ad in the Hongqiao Airport as we were leaving Shanghai.
There was a sign on the railing around our second floor balcony at the Lu Jiang Hotel in Xiamen: “Prohibition of Climbing.” If a sign can be translated, “No Louding,” why not “No Climbing”? “Prohibition of Climbing” must have seemed much more forbidding.
The sign about giving up your seat “to the elderly” was above my head when I was sitting on the ferry from Xiamen to Gulangyu—Archie’s humor.
Just as the wrong tone can completely change the meaning of a Chinese word, a missing or misplaced letter can do the same for English. The hotel information book had a label in Chinese and in English. The English message said, “For your readying pleasure.” Getting ready to see the local sights?
But I do love the signs in our Hong Kong bathroom. Remember that Hong Kong was a British protectorate for many years. English is spoken often and spoken well. The humor I see here is in the necessity for the provided information: “For your own safety, please do not bathe when you are fatigued, after consumption of excess alcohol, or when you do not feel well.” Please notice the handles on the bathtub to help with entering and/or exiting the tub. With the prices in Hong Kong being what they are, I would surmise that there are lots of charges on the ole corporate credit card other than lodging. Many American movies are offered via the room TV; about every fifth ad is for QUALITY ADULT ENTERTAINMENT with the assurance that no movie titles will be listed on the bill.
At the Internet café there were several young people playing video games. (Not nearly as many as I would have expected since it was Saturday.) The noise level was VERY HIGH! We were relieved that the Internet email hookups were in a separate room with a sign on the door to keep it shut. The sign on the entry door tells a lot: “No one under 16 or in school uniform allowed.” Guess that cuts down on school truancy. You think? But not late nights if you are over 16—closes at 2 am.
Did you notice that McDonald’s is open 24 hours in Hong Kong? “I’m loving it.”
And the truck with “Pearly Gates”? Archie just thought that was cool. He says you can get to heaven from Hong Kong.
The first photo—“No Louding.” Chinese people love to get together for almost any reason. And when they do, they certainly have a wonderful time. Being from a large family, I identify with their noise level. This sign was on the wall of the Lingering Gardens in Suzhou. There were many Chinese tourists there along with other tourists from all over the world. Guess the powers that be wished to make a good impression. Therefore, “no louding” allowed.
And, yes, there was Tiger Woods in the huge Accenture ad in the Hongqiao Airport as we were leaving Shanghai.
There was a sign on the railing around our second floor balcony at the Lu Jiang Hotel in Xiamen: “Prohibition of Climbing.” If a sign can be translated, “No Louding,” why not “No Climbing”? “Prohibition of Climbing” must have seemed much more forbidding.
The sign about giving up your seat “to the elderly” was above my head when I was sitting on the ferry from Xiamen to Gulangyu—Archie’s humor.
Just as the wrong tone can completely change the meaning of a Chinese word, a missing or misplaced letter can do the same for English. The hotel information book had a label in Chinese and in English. The English message said, “For your readying pleasure.” Getting ready to see the local sights?
But I do love the signs in our Hong Kong bathroom. Remember that Hong Kong was a British protectorate for many years. English is spoken often and spoken well. The humor I see here is in the necessity for the provided information: “For your own safety, please do not bathe when you are fatigued, after consumption of excess alcohol, or when you do not feel well.” Please notice the handles on the bathtub to help with entering and/or exiting the tub. With the prices in Hong Kong being what they are, I would surmise that there are lots of charges on the ole corporate credit card other than lodging. Many American movies are offered via the room TV; about every fifth ad is for QUALITY ADULT ENTERTAINMENT with the assurance that no movie titles will be listed on the bill.
At the Internet café there were several young people playing video games. (Not nearly as many as I would have expected since it was Saturday.) The noise level was VERY HIGH! We were relieved that the Internet email hookups were in a separate room with a sign on the door to keep it shut. The sign on the entry door tells a lot: “No one under 16 or in school uniform allowed.” Guess that cuts down on school truancy. You think? But not late nights if you are over 16—closes at 2 am.
Did you notice that McDonald’s is open 24 hours in Hong Kong? “I’m loving it.”
And the truck with “Pearly Gates”? Archie just thought that was cool. He says you can get to heaven from Hong Kong.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Missed posting
We missed a posting from Tuesday afternoon at the airport. It's been added below in the correct order. It's titled Airport.
Xiamen, Thursday.
Today is a pretty laid back day for us, nice to relax every now and then. Some would say we are going too slow, but please remember, we have been here before. If this was our first time in
Having some challenges reaching the people we were going to meet for dinner, so that may not happen. An artist we met in
I write a lot, yes. Paul Doughboy (not his real name) used to tell me in
For instance, I have not told you about mini bars in
Or that I took 200 pictures in Jing de zhen. Bet you are glad I did not post and discuss all of them. Then 60 more the first day here, and remember, we got here about
Also guess that means you need one of those new multi-gigabyte camera cards to store all the pictures. I dump them into my computer each night. But it is far heavier than a mini disc or whatever they call them today. I’m sure they are available here, but we have stayed out of the electronics stores, except one in
And remember all those giant hotels for foreigners? Lots of modern and clean hotels along the Motel 8 concept are springing up. Some even have parking spaces set aside for drivers. Used to be the big ones were easily $150.00+/day (many still are), but these new ones are around $20.00/day. They are going to shake up the travel industry here, big time. Last year in
Tomorrow we head to
Still smiling.
Photos from Xiamen
In the foreground is our ferry, the back boat is a tour boat. Cooler, but not ours. Part of Gu lang yu Island in background.
Lady artist at the rock picture shop.
Above is a dough character maker on Fu Zhou Lu.
Wednesday, first full day in Xiamen
Woke up after sleeping 10 + hours, that was a good bed, and I was tired, very. Maybe more than I thought.
Breakfast downstairs, and a couple from
Off to Gu lang yu, or
Ferry ride over is no charge, and she begins a good narration of the surroundings and architecture. Before we go far she stops at her office and we register. Now I am super sensitive about signing anything without reading it in the
Gu lang yu is special. When the foreign powers got extraterritoriality they set up isolated (from the Chinese) enclaves that were subject to their laws, not Chinese laws. This one was
Then a shop where a young lady out front is carving (?) on a shiny piece of black polished stone. But not carving as I thought, more like punching a tiny dot, moving the tool, then punching again. I gotta see, so we go inside that one too. Absolutely amazing. Have you ever seen the “pictures” printed in the Wall Street Journal? Like that, composed of hundreds if not thousands of tiny dots. We bargain and Grace ends up with a Qi Baishi likeness, our favorite Chinese artist, small version thank you as our bags are getting heavy. Some are even colored after the carving, ours is black and white, no color added.
We walk on to the other side and the beach, but thankfully this is where the trams come in. To that 20 RMB for the guide now is added 10 more RMB each, yes another 20 RMB. But with sore dogs and a return trip by a different route, we are game. At least I do not have to pay for the guide Mary.
Back to the ferry, and oh yes, another 8 RMB each for the return trip to
Back in
Hotel again and another rest.
Evening and Grace and I head out for a walk. Down Fu Zhou Lu, a street next to our hotel, a pedestrian walkway with no traffic, at least none at night. Shops are extra clean, very modern and stylish. Not the extreme
Getting late and the sun is way down, we head back to the hotel and our room.
Very pleasant day, very.
Airport
Tuesday when we got to the airport, we had plenty of time. Albert told us the plane had still not left
He gets through and talks to Coco in
What would happen without Chinese friends?
We check in, and of course, since the airport is small and they have nothing else to do, we get our bags checked. The transformers in my suitcase seem to be of interest. Not a problem. I show them, they are happy, I tell them they are for the computer. Forget what they check Grace’s for, but no big deal. We both go through security, and, of course, I also get a thorough body scan. Again, they are just being cautious, not a big deal. The security guy thinks it funny my beard is gone, actually laughs, never seen one do that before. I have several porcelain objects in my bags that usually are checked as porcelain and ceramic material is opaque to X-Rays. But this is Jing de zhen; who doesn’t have porcelain when they leave?
There is a nice “reception hall” for waiting for the flight. Grace and I both comment that we did not, and do not, feel in any way intimidated. The security is thorough, but polite and sincere. In the 80’s you felt they thought every American was a potential threat. That feeling is gone, from everywhere we have been this time. Good riddance.
Flight to Shenzen is uneventful, and the landing is smooth. We have to get our bags and walk to ticketing as we did not check all the way through. Long walk, even turns out it is in a different terminal, terminal A. Have to go back and ask where is terminal A, no signs in English we see. Oh, except directions to the McDonald’s on the ground floor, terminal B. We find terminal A, but cannot locate Xiamen Airlines; we have walked with bags it seems like a mile, at least. Grace asks. Hey, this may be
Ticketing smooth, security again, smooth, get to the gate 30 minutes before departure. We talk to an American businessman who has had interests here for 12 years. He has been to
The driver understands my Chinese. Actually that is a surprise because every Chinese location has a different dialect. We are now in
Get to the hotel, and check-in goes well. Second floor, very clean and sharp room, waterfront facing Gu lang yu Island the old Amoy of Treaty Port fame. Sun is out; we can see blue sky (first time since arriving in
We each go to a buffet with chefs behind and choose three dishes. Mine are cold octopus with a real wasabi and soy dip, a type of spring roll with seafood and broccoli, onion, and carrots, and five large grilled shrimp on skewers. I recognize the octopus tentacles and love them. The wasabi sauce kicks me, but is excellent. Hey, this is the coast; you eat seafood don’t you? Grace orders dumplings, seafood mix wrapped in bacon, green (vegetable?) patties and a bowl with a peach half and a cute little paper peacock.
Night falls, lights come on, and we watch Gu lang yu, tomorrow’s destination grow dark and the harbor start to sleep.
Back to the room, and I am beat. I think I go to bed around
Ah, nice bed, soft bed, clean sheets bed, wonderful dreams bed.
Good night, Wednesday.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Taxi?
Above is the cue in front of us, maybe 100 people long, below is the cue behind us at Xiamen airport waiting for taxis.
Tuesday morning
No ticket confirmation. It is a bit before
We are trying to decide if we want to try to go to
We do have tickets from Jing de zhen to Shenzen. Shenzen is just across the line from Hong Kong, and the thought has crossed my mind why struggle to fly all the way up to Xiamen after all this, Xiamen is really almost parallel with where we are, just can’t get there directly. Maybe just go on to Hong Kong from
So Grace and I are on hold right now, waiting, which I do not do very well. I’ll call the
Any suggestions from home on what to do?
Love this place.
Called
I called again this time the right number, but no answer. But then noticed the
Unknown in a foreign country where you neither read nor understand the language can sometimes be fun, but just as often be frustrating.
More later, gotta unplug and go.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Last day in Jing de zhen
Last day in Jing de zhen, maybe. No email confirmation about our flight change from Shenzen to Xiamen.
We are up early, so no breakfast, we are off to WalMart. Now, those of you who know me well know I am NOT a fan of WalMart. However, if the town has a WalMart in China, then it is a destination point that every taxi driver knows, even in our (maybe I should say my) poor Chinese. Across the street from WalMart and down an alley is supposed to be a Monday morning event here in Jing de zhen. This has been the center for porcelain production for better than 1000 years. Thus, there is lots of stuff out there to be found. And that is exactly what we are looking for: The Monday morning found things market. Not sure it translates as such, but that is what we were told it was when we first arrived.
Lo and behold we arrive. An empty lot filled with vendors down on their rears with blankets of shards and misc spread before them. It opens at 6:30, we are some of the first to arrive at 6:40. Not much but broken porcelain, but to us collectors that is fun too. Except everything is similar: blue and white, Qing Dynasty (1600-1900), bottoms and more bottoms. Get half way down the lane and there are some better things, little figures, some broken stem cups, some interesting wine cups. I get 8 wine cups at one vendor, but am getting bored. See a couple of statues, and ask the price for one but she replies 800 RMB! That is better than $100.00 USD! Gees, I thought we were in the back woods here. We haggle, I offer 100, that is RMB not $, and she comes to 600. From there it is pretty much a stalemate, and I walk off two times, only for her to make some other statement to bring me back. I go to 200 after she comes down to 400, but neither will budge from there. I leave again, and she drops to 350, so I go back. By now she has gotten me a stool form an neighbor, she takes pity on this old man going down and back up each time, it ain’t easy. I tell her 300, and she groans and shakes her head. Grace whispers that it is a nice piece, for the fifth time, and I tell her yes, but not at that price. I offer 300 one more time, she counters with 320, and I walk, again. I get two vendors away and she sends a guy to bring me back. 300 is OK, she caves, and I feel fantastic. Until I do the math and realize I paid > 1/3 of her asking price; that is always my target. But it is a nice piece, and I am happy.
We walk some more, but start hearing a commotion to our right, and as we get to the end of the lane, another whole area opens, this one with the real vendors. We have been with the beginners. These guys have Song Dynasty wares, Mao memorabilia, wood carvings, rare and newly old things, it is a place where you could spend weeks looking. Surprising tho we do not really find anything in this area we want. Most I have already, or it is prohibited from being taken out of the country. So we enjoy the stroll, but add no more. But there is bargaining all around, and some intense and heated exchanges for sure.
Finished at about 8:30, if we get the right taxi we can make it to breakfast still. We do.
Back in the room we look over our new stuff, and are pleased. Nap time, apparently I did not appreciate how tired we were yesterday, because we are still tired after a good night’s sleep.
After lunch, no confirmation. I write an email, but my hopes are dimming. Grace and I go investigate another hotel that may be nicer than this one. Find an incredibly clean and neat one just across the river, the Jin Jiang Inn. Nobody speaks English, but Grace ends up talking to someone on the phone who does, and we check out a room and get their card. Who knows, next time?
Further down we find the Holy Mountain Hotel, a very nice 4 star like ours with an incredible gift shop. About thirty major ceramics artists are represented, with 7-10 pieces each. We enjoy looking, this is great stuff. We grab a beer in their lounge and rest some, those feet get a work out here.
Back to our hotel and we get cleaned up for dinner. Baixu and her friend Albert come by and take us to the Six Thousand Flavor Restaurant. Where else? Food street! The menu looks more like a hardback book, with page after page of great pictures and prices. They may actually have six thousand choices. Pictures attached needless to say. Best food so far on the trip, by far. Well, maybe short of M on the Bund food, but great. And surprisingly, Baixu picks up the tab! I argue, but she will not budge. They drive us home, but Baixu tells us goodbye as she has a staff meeting tomorrow so we will not see her again until we return or she comes to the US. Not so far fetched as she was in England last year and is headed to Australia next February.
Another great day in China.
Gotta check my email.
We are up early, so no breakfast, we are off to WalMart. Now, those of you who know me well know I am NOT a fan of WalMart. However, if the town has a WalMart in China, then it is a destination point that every taxi driver knows, even in our (maybe I should say my) poor Chinese. Across the street from WalMart and down an alley is supposed to be a Monday morning event here in Jing de zhen. This has been the center for porcelain production for better than 1000 years. Thus, there is lots of stuff out there to be found. And that is exactly what we are looking for: The Monday morning found things market. Not sure it translates as such, but that is what we were told it was when we first arrived.
Lo and behold we arrive. An empty lot filled with vendors down on their rears with blankets of shards and misc spread before them. It opens at 6:30, we are some of the first to arrive at 6:40. Not much but broken porcelain, but to us collectors that is fun too. Except everything is similar: blue and white, Qing Dynasty (1600-1900), bottoms and more bottoms. Get half way down the lane and there are some better things, little figures, some broken stem cups, some interesting wine cups. I get 8 wine cups at one vendor, but am getting bored. See a couple of statues, and ask the price for one but she replies 800 RMB! That is better than $100.00 USD! Gees, I thought we were in the back woods here. We haggle, I offer 100, that is RMB not $, and she comes to 600. From there it is pretty much a stalemate, and I walk off two times, only for her to make some other statement to bring me back. I go to 200 after she comes down to 400, but neither will budge from there. I leave again, and she drops to 350, so I go back. By now she has gotten me a stool form an neighbor, she takes pity on this old man going down and back up each time, it ain’t easy. I tell her 300, and she groans and shakes her head. Grace whispers that it is a nice piece, for the fifth time, and I tell her yes, but not at that price. I offer 300 one more time, she counters with 320, and I walk, again. I get two vendors away and she sends a guy to bring me back. 300 is OK, she caves, and I feel fantastic. Until I do the math and realize I paid > 1/3 of her asking price; that is always my target. But it is a nice piece, and I am happy.
We walk some more, but start hearing a commotion to our right, and as we get to the end of the lane, another whole area opens, this one with the real vendors. We have been with the beginners. These guys have Song Dynasty wares, Mao memorabilia, wood carvings, rare and newly old things, it is a place where you could spend weeks looking. Surprising tho we do not really find anything in this area we want. Most I have already, or it is prohibited from being taken out of the country. So we enjoy the stroll, but add no more. But there is bargaining all around, and some intense and heated exchanges for sure.
Finished at about 8:30, if we get the right taxi we can make it to breakfast still. We do.
Back in the room we look over our new stuff, and are pleased. Nap time, apparently I did not appreciate how tired we were yesterday, because we are still tired after a good night’s sleep.
After lunch, no confirmation. I write an email, but my hopes are dimming. Grace and I go investigate another hotel that may be nicer than this one. Find an incredibly clean and neat one just across the river, the Jin Jiang Inn. Nobody speaks English, but Grace ends up talking to someone on the phone who does, and we check out a room and get their card. Who knows, next time?
Further down we find the Holy Mountain Hotel, a very nice 4 star like ours with an incredible gift shop. About thirty major ceramics artists are represented, with 7-10 pieces each. We enjoy looking, this is great stuff. We grab a beer in their lounge and rest some, those feet get a work out here.
Back to our hotel and we get cleaned up for dinner. Baixu and her friend Albert come by and take us to the Six Thousand Flavor Restaurant. Where else? Food street! The menu looks more like a hardback book, with page after page of great pictures and prices. They may actually have six thousand choices. Pictures attached needless to say. Best food so far on the trip, by far. Well, maybe short of M on the Bund food, but great. And surprisingly, Baixu picks up the tab! I argue, but she will not budge. They drive us home, but Baixu tells us goodbye as she has a staff meeting tomorrow so we will not see her again until we return or she comes to the US. Not so far fetched as she was in England last year and is headed to Australia next February.
Another great day in China.
Gotta check my email.
Relaxation and a hair cut
Relax day.
Today is Sunday, and I gotta say that both Grace and I need a rest.
Saturday’s intense where are we going and when drama wore me out completely, even though the second part of the day was very relaxing mentally.
Today we got up leisurely and ate a nice breakfast at the hotel restaurant. No schedule, no run here to do that, then there to do this. So after breakfast, we walked down the street to an eyeglass store and asked the man if he could fix Grace’s glasses. He did with a smile, the lens had fallen out but my eyes do not see that small, and we had not brought our usual glass repair kit. No charge. Nice
And that is one of the reasons we are having such a good time, even tho tired. The Chinese person, for the most part is happy, pleasant, proud, and willing to assist. Usually without their hand reaching into your pocket (maybe I should add too deeply?). It is almost always a pleasure dealing with them, be they a local shopkeeper or a student we meet that wishes to practice their language skills.
The Chinese are on a roll, and almost daily they see improvement in their lifestyle. We were talking to a lady from Australia this morning at breakfast. She first came to Jing de zhen 6 years ago. She has lived here as a resident artist or teaching at the university for two years in addition to a number of additional trips here. We had a nice discussion as to how China in general and Jing de zhen in particular has changed. Sure, there are the things that will never change, but it is amazing to anyone who has visited over time the progress they are making.
After the glasses shop we came back to the hotel and rested. As lunchtime approached we walked down the street again, but on the other side. Stopped at an ATM and tried to get some money. It worked in Shanghai, why not here? Nope. Card not valid. Hope that does not mean trouble. We went inside, yes, banks are apparently open on Sunday here, surprise! (Yes, I was too.) but we had left our small English to Chinese book in the room, and we did not speak what was needed. And they did not speak a word of English either. Not a problem, when the security guard could not help, we went to a teller. She could not speak a word of English either, but we eventually got through that we were Americans, and the debit card did not work in their machine. The guard then walked us down another 150 feet to a different bank’s (they are everywhere, the average Chinese person saves 20 % of their income!) ATM facility and asked their security guard if we could try. He suggested one machine out of the four there, and sure enough English appears on the screen as an option. Money came out, we smiled and say thank you, and we are off again.
Across from the hotel and down a side street is an urban redevelopment area that has been renovated along the lines of a Ming Dynasty street. Magnificent buildings, but a lot of food and trinket booths all blocking traffic and the way. We walk down there maybe four blocks and come to the end, where they are building what appears to be an apartment complex along the same lines. Beautiful, modern, and well designed. Nothing further, and no sit down restaurants, so we head back. I sit for a photo at a sculpture of an old Chinese barber cast in bronze. Back to the front and we get lunch at a fast serve Chinese restaurant. Clean, efficient, fair prices, modern, they are going to have a tremendous impact on this country just as our McDonald’s and such did.
Heading back to the hotel after lunch, we pass an older Chinese man in an alley and sure enough, he has almost the same setup the bronze casting had, a barber. I shake my head, and do not want to try him as I have been waiting for one of those that has the massage offering too. But we get 50 feet and I reconsider. Grace laughs, and takes the camera. I ask what price, but he is too deaf or does not understand, he is possibly 70 years old. Just then a very loud speaker comes on right behind him, blaring shop music from the store just to his right. He picks up the chair, moves to the other side of the alley, and sets it down. He goes back for his mirror stand and wash bowl, and I sit in the chair. Haircut begins, he is slow, no electrical apparatus here, all man powered. He does a pretty good job on the head, then offers to wash my hair, so I bend forward and let him. Then comes the shave on the back of the neck, with a razor that has been. . . I better stop there, I did not want to think about it either.
Oh, did I mention the passing traffic inches from us every so often, remember, I did say alley.
Ah, then he asks if I want a beard something (?). I decide what the heck, this is my only opportunity, so tell him with finger motions no shave, but to cut the beard. He does: OFF! Too late, and Grace is hooting by now, but does come over and asks he not cut the stash.
My after picture is attached. Notice the stash is not even? Notice I did NOT let him shave my face? We’ll try to get it done soon, and I’m hoping the beard grows back soon too. So Jennifer, who is now 36(?), has now seen me twice in her life without a beard. I do not think Beth, who is 26 (?), has ever seen me like this.
Back to the hotel, hope they let me leave China in two weeks even tho I do not now match my passport photo.
Life is an adventure, and should be lived that way. Sometimes.
Today is Sunday, and I gotta say that both Grace and I need a rest.
Saturday’s intense where are we going and when drama wore me out completely, even though the second part of the day was very relaxing mentally.
Today we got up leisurely and ate a nice breakfast at the hotel restaurant. No schedule, no run here to do that, then there to do this. So after breakfast, we walked down the street to an eyeglass store and asked the man if he could fix Grace’s glasses. He did with a smile, the lens had fallen out but my eyes do not see that small, and we had not brought our usual glass repair kit. No charge. Nice
And that is one of the reasons we are having such a good time, even tho tired. The Chinese person, for the most part is happy, pleasant, proud, and willing to assist. Usually without their hand reaching into your pocket (maybe I should add too deeply?). It is almost always a pleasure dealing with them, be they a local shopkeeper or a student we meet that wishes to practice their language skills.
The Chinese are on a roll, and almost daily they see improvement in their lifestyle. We were talking to a lady from Australia this morning at breakfast. She first came to Jing de zhen 6 years ago. She has lived here as a resident artist or teaching at the university for two years in addition to a number of additional trips here. We had a nice discussion as to how China in general and Jing de zhen in particular has changed. Sure, there are the things that will never change, but it is amazing to anyone who has visited over time the progress they are making.
After the glasses shop we came back to the hotel and rested. As lunchtime approached we walked down the street again, but on the other side. Stopped at an ATM and tried to get some money. It worked in Shanghai, why not here? Nope. Card not valid. Hope that does not mean trouble. We went inside, yes, banks are apparently open on Sunday here, surprise! (Yes, I was too.) but we had left our small English to Chinese book in the room, and we did not speak what was needed. And they did not speak a word of English either. Not a problem, when the security guard could not help, we went to a teller. She could not speak a word of English either, but we eventually got through that we were Americans, and the debit card did not work in their machine. The guard then walked us down another 150 feet to a different bank’s (they are everywhere, the average Chinese person saves 20 % of their income!) ATM facility and asked their security guard if we could try. He suggested one machine out of the four there, and sure enough English appears on the screen as an option. Money came out, we smiled and say thank you, and we are off again.
Across from the hotel and down a side street is an urban redevelopment area that has been renovated along the lines of a Ming Dynasty street. Magnificent buildings, but a lot of food and trinket booths all blocking traffic and the way. We walk down there maybe four blocks and come to the end, where they are building what appears to be an apartment complex along the same lines. Beautiful, modern, and well designed. Nothing further, and no sit down restaurants, so we head back. I sit for a photo at a sculpture of an old Chinese barber cast in bronze. Back to the front and we get lunch at a fast serve Chinese restaurant. Clean, efficient, fair prices, modern, they are going to have a tremendous impact on this country just as our McDonald’s and such did.
Heading back to the hotel after lunch, we pass an older Chinese man in an alley and sure enough, he has almost the same setup the bronze casting had, a barber. I shake my head, and do not want to try him as I have been waiting for one of those that has the massage offering too. But we get 50 feet and I reconsider. Grace laughs, and takes the camera. I ask what price, but he is too deaf or does not understand, he is possibly 70 years old. Just then a very loud speaker comes on right behind him, blaring shop music from the store just to his right. He picks up the chair, moves to the other side of the alley, and sets it down. He goes back for his mirror stand and wash bowl, and I sit in the chair. Haircut begins, he is slow, no electrical apparatus here, all man powered. He does a pretty good job on the head, then offers to wash my hair, so I bend forward and let him. Then comes the shave on the back of the neck, with a razor that has been. . . I better stop there, I did not want to think about it either.
Oh, did I mention the passing traffic inches from us every so often, remember, I did say alley.
Ah, then he asks if I want a beard something (?). I decide what the heck, this is my only opportunity, so tell him with finger motions no shave, but to cut the beard. He does: OFF! Too late, and Grace is hooting by now, but does come over and asks he not cut the stash.
My after picture is attached. Notice the stash is not even? Notice I did NOT let him shave my face? We’ll try to get it done soon, and I’m hoping the beard grows back soon too. So Jennifer, who is now 36(?), has now seen me twice in her life without a beard. I do not think Beth, who is 26 (?), has ever seen me like this.
Back to the hotel, hope they let me leave China in two weeks even tho I do not now match my passport photo.
Life is an adventure, and should be lived that way. Sometimes.
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